African American Children in the Modern Child Welfare System: A Legacy of the Flemming Rule.

CHILD welfare; AFRICAN American children; GOVERNMENT policy; AFRICAN American families; SOCIAL security; AFRICAN Americans; CHILD development; PUBLIC welfare

The article links the current child welfare conditions of the African American community to the historical development of the modern child welfare system which is called the Flemming Rule. It is opined that ineffective implementation of the Flemming Rule in the U.S. caused long-term serious consequences for African American children and their families. The Flemming Rule was an administrative response to discriminatory practices in the AFDC program under the Social Security Act of 1935. The rule evolved as a result of widespread flagrant abuses of home suitability requirements by some states to deny AFDC benefits to African American children and their mothers.